Eminem Defends Kid Rock Collaboration: ‘Not About Choosing Sides’
Billboard ·
The rapper addressed backlash over his guest verse on Kid Rock’s new faith-based album, pointing to the pair’s decades-long friendship
Eminem has defended his decision to collaborate with longtime friend Kid Rock , after their new team-up drew backlash from some fans over the two artists’ opposing politics.
The rapper appears on “Heal My Faith,” a track from Kid Rock’s new faith-based album Halfway 2 Jesus , released Friday (Oct. 17). Hours after the album arrived, Eminem addressed the pairing on social media. “Not about choosing sides, just choosing to make music with my old friend,” he wrote. “Praying for all of us.”
The collaboration had surprised some of Eminem’s fans given the two Detroit artists’ well-documented political differences: Eminem endorsed Kamala Harris at a 2024 Detroit rally and has criticized Donald Trump on tracks including “Campaign Speech,” while Kid Rock is among Trump’s most prominent supporters in music. Eminem addresses that divide directly in his verse. “From shock rap to the rock rap, my homie and me / He is my brother, not my political enemy,” he raps, before calling for unity across party and religious lines.
Kid Rock, who has been friends with Eminem for roughly four decades, spoke about the collaboration in an interview with Billboard . “I really didn’t want to drag him into my political world,” he said, adding that the two discuss politics “a little bit, not a ton.” He described the album as being “about forgiveness and second chances” and an attempt to “heal some of the division in our country.” Kid Rock also noted that Eminem was initially announced for a different track, “7 Sins,” before the two decided to keep their collaboration to a single song; that slot ultimately went to Lil Wayne.
The two have a long history together. Eminem featured on Kid Rock’s 1998 song “F— Off” from Devil Without a Cause , and Kid Rock appeared in the video for Eminem’s 2013 single “Berzerk.” Both rank among the best-selling artists in Billboard history — Eminem has notched 10 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and five No. 1 hits on the Hot 100, while Kid Rock broke through with his diamond-certified 1998 breakthrough Devil Without a Cause and scored a Hot 100 top 10 with “All Summer Long.”